For all you guys that thinks season came in too late how do you explain......

[B.M. Barrelcooker]

...............the fact that i have been callin up more turkeys everyday since season went out? And there has been much more gobbling overall. It truly is "right" right now. So get on out there and just don't shoot 'em.!

[WarriorHunter]

I hear that, i saw a few in full strut the other day on hwy 90 a few miles out of burkesville

[notimlmit]

I can really believe that, where I hunted and got 1 but only actually saw 2 others, my brother-in-law has seen a group of 15-17 birds with 4-5 toms at least every other day since my last hunt.

[turk2di]

...............the fact that i have been callin up more turkeys everyday since season went out? And there has been much more gobbling overall. It truly is "right" right now. So get on out there and just don't shoot 'em.!

They kno when the seasons out! Used 2b my favorite time to go out & fool with the birds was right after the season went out. Last season at H&H in Union co, a buddy & I were spring squirrell hunting & heard 7 birds i believe. 3 of them gobbled until nearly 7 or so.

[KyHorse]

Nothing new. You will hear birds gobbling well into June in some areas.

[schuyler olt]

There could also be some renesting going on because of the really early spring followed by the really late hard freeze.

[maxcam]

There could also be some renesting going on because of the really early spring followed by the really late hard freeze.

I tend to agree with you on that point Schuyler.......

What do you think about the noticable drop in Jake harvest this year?

[Multidigits]

There are a lot of poults out now. Not sure if the weather made any hens relay or not. seems if that little cold snap killed any eggs, then you'd never have any turkeys in our northern states.

[schuyler olt]

Not doubting you, Tom, but yours is the first poult report I've heard. Since June 1 is usually considered the "magic day" for hatching, your report would support the notion they nested early.

With a body temperature of around 108 degrees, a hen can keep a nest viable provided she doesn't get bumped from it for any length of time, so it wouldn't surprise me that some early nests survived.

As to northern states and Canada, remember that they breed later--that's why they have seasons going to May 31. And from what I've read and heard over the years anecdotally, they don't generally have our reproduction rates and their flocks have grown more slowly.

As for the jakes, there were fewer of them to kill because of last year's hatch and some surely got reported as hens last fall. I'm thinking a one bird fall limit wouldn't be a bad thing--archery and gun combined. It would still provide the opportunity while minimizing the impact.

Also, I think many hunters deliberately gave the jakes a pass this year.

[Multidigits]

Dang, i remember a lot of discussion when the Fall season was being passed out about the harvest not being a factor on Spring seasons. We had fewer turkeys overall then, so why change something that you know isn't a factor. A quick look at the fall harvest will show that it's not enough to drain on anything.

[turk2di]

Not doubting you, Tom, but yours is the first poult report I've heard. Since June 1 is usually considered the "magic day" for hatching, your report would support the notion they nested early.

With a body temperature of around 108 degrees, a hen can keep a nest viable provided she doesn't get bumped from it for any length of time, so it wouldn't surprise me that some early nests survived.

As to northern states and Canada, remember that they breed later--that's why they have seasons going to May 31. And from what I've read and heard over the years anecdotally, they don't generally have our reproduction rates and their flocks have grown more slowly.

As for the jakes, there were fewer of them to kill because of last year's hatch and some surely got reported as hens last fall. I'm thinking a one bird fall limit wouldn't be a bad thing--archery and gun combined. It would still provide the opportunity while minimizing the impact.

Also, I think many hunters deliberately gave the jakes a pass this year.

One bird in the fall? Not necessary. Harvest figure from the fall are so minimal as 2b a non factor.

[Killroy]

Fall birds are hard to kill, and not too many people hunt them. a few birds die during hard winters so the fall hunting does not really have much of an impact with our normally mild winters. I would say the acorn crop has more to do with the number of birds that survive the winter than hunters do.

[Feedman]

Well we might as well make some radical changes in how we hunt our turkey flock:

1. NO Fall Season!!!!

2. One male bird in spring!!!!

3. Only hunt until noon during the season!!!

4. Shorten the season by 7 days!!!!

Follow these rules until the flock reaches 500,000 birds or whatever the carrying capacity number is for the state .

[Double B]

Sounds like Indiana until just a year or two ago. ;) Kentucky has great hunting, just need to see how the next few hatches go (hopefully better than the last couple where I hunt). I can't see any need for drastic changes yet.

[Multidigits]

Well we might as well make some radical changes in how we hunt our turkey flock:

1. NO Fall Season!!!!

2. One male bird in spring!!!!

3. Only hunt until noon during the season!!!

4. Shorten the season by 7 days!!!!

Follow these rules until the flock reaches 500,000 birds or whatever the carrying capacity number is for the state .


Maybe the 3rd could campaign against blinds, being that they seem to be a drain on the longbeard and dumb ole jakes???

[INKYHUNTER]

I didn't ever have a problem finding birds, the problem I had was finding any that would gobble or work to a call. I'm not so sure we have a bird shortage.